Czech utility CEZ has named British engineer Rolls-Royce as the preferred candidate to develop small modular reactors (SMRs) from a shortlist of seven companies from the UK, France, the US and Japan.
Czechia’s trade and industry ministry said CEZ would form a strategic partnership with the company, with plans to deploy the reactors at a site near the Temelin nuclear power plant in the early 2030s.
“The decision to select Rolls-Royce SMR from a list of seven potential SMR technology providers follows a rigorous evaluation process by CEZ Group,” said the head of Rolls-Royce’s SMR division, Chris Cholerton.
“Discussions are ongoing to finalise contract terms and the final agreements are subject to customary regulatory clearances. Details of the agreement will be published at signing.”
‘Future energy security’
“Small modular reactors can be a key technology for ensuring our future energy security,” said Czech prime minister Petr Fiala.
“That’s why we have, from the beginning, been working towards not only building them, but also towards participating in their global development and production.”
The signing of the partnership will be subject to a security assessment of Rolls-Royce similar to ones carried out on large-reactor bidders.
The Czech government said it was an advantage that Rolls-Royce did not have a supply chain in place because it gave Czech companies the chance to participate “to the maximum extent possible”.
Other countries
The company is already involved in plans to bring SMRs to Poland and the Netherlands (see further reading), and is presently in a two-horse race to supply reactors to Swedish utility Vattenfall.
In the UK, Rolls-Royce is competing for up to £20bn in government funding to roll out Britain’s first SMRs, although delays have beset the project. In the UK it is up against EDF, GE-Hitachi, Holtec Britain and Nuscale.
The winners will be announced late 2024 or early 2025, although they were originally due to be announced earlier this summer.
The company’s light-water design of reactor is relatively large for an SMR. It will have a power output of 470MW and a unit cost of £1.8bn.
It is presently undergoing design assessment, a process expected to be concluded in 2026.
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